After five years on the Park Ridge City Council, 7th Ward Ald. Marty Joyce has announced he will be stepping down this spring.
“You may have noticed a sign in front of my house,” Joyce said at the end of the council’s Feb. 28 meeting. “I have sold it and I have bought (a new) one and it’s not in Park Ridge.”
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Joyce, who was appointed 7th Ward alderman in 2017 and ran unopposed for a four-year term in 2019, said he will be moving to Barrington and expects to continue serving as alderman until May 23 when his move is finalized.
Joyce declined to share why he made the decision to move out of Park Ridge.
“I’ve lived here my entire life,” he said. “I’ve always been curious about what things are like in other towns. Now I’ll find out.”
Park Ridge Mayor Marty Maloney said he plans to seek applicants for the aldermanic seat and will form a committee of 7th Ward residents who will interview the applicants. The committee will then make a recommendation for the candidate they feel should represent the 7th Ward and Maloney will bring that recommendation to the full City Council for approval.
The person appointed as 7th Ward alderman will serve through the spring election of 2023.
Anyone interested in serving on the Park Ridge City Council as 7th Ward alderman should send a letter of interest and resume to Deputy City Clerk Brigid Madden at [email protected], Maloney said.
The process for filling the seat will be the same one used to fill prior vacancies on the City Council.
It was in 2017 that a citizens committee recommended Joyce for appointment as alderman of the 7th Ward. Maloney, who had represented the 7th Ward at the time, was named acting mayor in 2015 following the death of mayor David Schmidt and Maloney served simultaneously as mayor and alderman until 2017 when he was elected to a full term as mayor and vacated his aldermanic seat.
Prior to joining the City Council, Joyce, a retired civil engineer, served on the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education from 1993 to 2001 and again from 2004 to 2008.
“I felt like I was able to give back to my town and I’m happy to do it,” Joyce said.
Efforts to advance flooding mitigation projects, like the Marvin Parkway flood control project that was completed last year, were cited by Joyce as accomplishments of which he is proud to have been part of while on the City Council.
“I don’t know if you can actually control stormwater, but we are doing something about it,” he said.
He also said he is happy that city employment has “stabilized” in recent years as wages have become more competitive.
“It’s not something a citizen would notice every day, but we have a great staff and I’m proud of the service we can provide,” Joyce said.